Intelligent biomaterials show promise in regenerative medicine, diagnostics and drug delivery, says UK scientist.

Rein Ulijn, a biomedical materials specialist at the University of Manchester, claims that enzyme-responsive materials have the 'potential to detect, respond to, and ultimately repair biological processes'. For example, the materials could be used in medical devices that release drugs on receiving a biological signal from a cell, he said. 

Enzyme-responsive materials change their properties when triggered by specific enzymes. For example, Ulijn has made a material that forms a gel in response to the catalytic action of a protease enzyme. He predicts that it may eventually be used as an injectable cell-scaffold that gels when triggered by tissue fluid enzymes. 

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Cameron Alexander, an expert in smart materials and drug delivery from the University of Nottingham, UK said, 'materials that can respond to a biological signal could revolutionise medicine. This work shows that the flow of molecules into (and out of) polymer particles can be controlled by very specific enzyme switches - the first steps in making truly bio-responsive materials'. 

In the future, designing materials that mimic the in-vivo feed-back systems that control enzyme activity, will help to improve the response of these smart materials, said Ulijn.

Ruth Needham